Tap Milwaukee, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's entertainment website, received a 2013 Eppy for best entertainment website with 1 million or more unique monthly visitors from Editor & Publisher magazine, the longtime journalism industry journal.

"Tap has given us a perfect vehicle to bring smart and engaging content to readers through words, photography, music and video," said Jill Williams, deputy managing editor for features, entertainment and new products. | Nov. 1, 2013»Read Full Article

Milwaukee's Florentine Opera Company has a lot to sing about these days.

The Florentine, the sixth-oldest opera company in the country, is about to open its 80th season with a production of Verdi's "La Traviata." That 80th is in the same year as Verdi's 200th. | Nov. 1, 2013»Read Full Article(3)

Get a clue

Step away from TV's "CSI"s and "L&O"s and learn a little bit about real-life whodunits from a retired forensic investigator. Tom Hanratty will talk about "Forensic Science for Mystery Buffs" at 6 p.m. Thursday at the St. Francis Public Library, 4230 S. Nicholson Ave. He'll talk about bloodstain analysis, how to determine a time of death and what to watch for in your favorite crime show. The talk is free, but the library asks that amateur Sherlocks register by Tuesday by calling (414) 481-7323. More information is at www.stfrancislibrary.org.| Nov. 1, 2013»Read Full Article

AUTHOR VISITS

SHARP Literacy will celebrate the release of its new bilingual book for young readers, "A Great Lakes Adventure: Salmon's Journey Home," with a launch event at 7 p.m. Monday at Boswell Book Company, 2559 N. Downer Ave.

SHARP is a nonprofit that works with children in grades one through five to develop reading, writing and thinking skills through use of the visual arts. | Nov. 1, 2013»Read Full Article

Rockwell called himself an illustrator, rather than an artist, throughout his life.

Some critics and snobs have undervalued American artist Norman Rockwell, but Deborah Solomon doesn't make that mistake. Her new biography "American Mirror: The Life and Art of Norman Rockwell" makes the case that Rockwell's work, in all its fussy homeyness, is worth looking at and thinking about, and will continue to be so for a long time.

Many readers might recognize Solomon as the former purveyor of the often-snarky Q&A interview in The New York Times Sunday Magazine. But she's also an art critic and the biographer of artists Jackson Pollock and Joseph Cornell. Her Rockwell biography is well-researched; her prose intelligent, accessible and touched occasionally with humor; her readings of Rockwell's paintings sharp and sensible. | Nov. 1, 2013»Read Full Article

Range Line Inn in Mequon, housed in a building dating to around 1840, has added another chapter to its history: Longtime owner Patrick Strong has sold the restaurant to his brother and sister-in-law, Jack Strong and Kristy Knudsen.

“It’s still in the family,” Knudsen said. It's the second time for a sale between the brothers: Patrick had bought the business, at 2635 W. Mequon Road, from Jack in 1985, Knudsen said. | Nov. 1, 2013»Read Full Blog Post(1)